Gauchos edge Rice to advance to second round of the NCAA Tournament in women’s tennis

BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 32 UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis team battled past No. 39 Rice in a dramatic 4-3 victory on Friday in the NCAA First Round at the Mitchell Tennis Center. With the win, the Gauchos advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

THE MATCH
Final: No. 32 UC Santa Barbara 4, No. 39 Rice 3
Records: UC Santa Barbara 16-8, Rice 17-6

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos came out firing in doubles, dominating on courts two and one to claim the early 1-0 lead. Lucy Lu and Lily Pradkin wasted no time with a 6-1 win on court two, followed by a 6-2 victory from Amelia Honer and Ali Benedetto on court one. Court three went unfinished with Rice leading 4-3.

In singles, the momentum swung back and forth throughout the afternoon. Rice tied the match when Francesca Maguina defeated Tyra Richardson on court three, but UCSB answered with a statement win on court one, where No. 16 Amelia Honer downed Darya Schwartzman 6-1, 6-4.

The Owls responded with win a win on court two before Raphaelle Leroux put the Gauchos back in front and setting the stage for freshman Emma Tutoveanu. The Owls earned their third point on court six, but that would be all they got. After dropping a tight first set in a tiebreak, Tutoveanu roared back to clinch the match on court five with a 6-2, 6-2 finish in the final two sets.

RESULTS
Doubles

1. Honer/Benedetto (UCSB-W) def. Orav/Maguina (RICE) 6-2
2. Lu/Pradkin (UCSB-W) def. Schwartzman/Selvaraj (RICE) 6-1
3. Weissheim/Leroux (UCSB-W) vs. Ratkovic/Ashar (RICE) 3-4, unfinished

Order of Finish: 2, 1

Singles

1. #16 Amelia Honer (UCSB-W) def. Darya Schwartzman (RICE) 6-1, 6-4
2. Divna Ratkovic (RICE) def. Anna Weissheim (UCSB-W) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Francesca Maguina (RICE) def. Tyra Richardson (UCSB-W) 6-1, 6-3
4. Raphaelle Leroux (UCSB-W) def. Nithesa Selvaraj (RICE) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0
5. Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB-W) def. Allison Zipoli (RICE) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-2
6. Saara Orav (RICE) def. Katarina Vayser (UCSB-W) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3

Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2, 4, 6, 5

UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara advances to face No. 2 Texas A&M in the NCAA Second Round on Saturday, May 3. First serve is scheduled for 2 p.m. PT at the Mitchell Tennis Center.

(Article courtesy UCSB Athletics).